B.C. man spots bobcat while on his way to Starbucks

A few days after moving into his North Vancouver neighbourhood Paul Wiens was enjoying one of the perks – cutting through the scenic BCMC trail on his way to grab a coffee at Starbucks – when he had an unexpected but "magical" encounter.

Wiens, whose hobby is landscape and wildlife photography, stopped in his tracks and captured the moment when he saw a young bobcat in the bushes on camera.

"It was so curious, the way it was looking at me. We had this kind of magical experience together. I don't feel like it was afraid of me," he told CTV News, saying he was struck by how calm the feline seemed.

"It's just looking at me and I'm looking at him. Eventually, I just continued on my way. It didn't run away. It just kind of sat there in the bushes looking at me. And I said, 'Okay, see you later.'"

At the time he wasn't sure exactly what he was seeing but a feature on his iPhone identified the animal he had photographed as a bobcat. Wiens says the animal was almost completely camouflaged by its surroundings at first, something he thinks may account for why no one he has discussed it with either online or off has ever seen something similar in the popular area near the Grouse Grind.

"I was just ecstatic. I would never have imagined that such a kind of exotic animal would be right in my backyard," he said.

According to Critter Care Wildlife Society, Wiens is right that what he experienced was rare and special even though bobcats themselves are the most common wild feline in North America.

"They are an elusive animal preferring to hide from people. So, if you see one in the wild, consider yourself lucky," the organization's website says.

And there was one other thing about Wiens' experience that made it seem serendipitous.

Parked on the gravel trail next to the wooded area where the bobcat was spotted was a Bobcat-branded excavator, and the photos and video Wiens captured show the wild animal and the piece of equipment that bears its name in the same frame.

Tips on what people should do if they spot a bobcat and on how to co-exist with the species can be found on Critter Care's website.